When Aleksandra Kieczek started the master programme in Innovation Management at AU-IBT in 2007, she probably had not imagined that she would be the co-owner of her mentor company one and a half years later. But, nonetheless, that is exactly what happened.
Both parties benefit from the cooperation
As part of the master programme at AU-IBT, Aleksandra was assigned a mentor company. In fact, she chose to study at AU-IBT because of the mentor solution, which is unique to the master programmes in Herning. Aleksandra wanted a mentor company interested in the Polish market, since she is from Poland herself. Thus, she chose Auluna – a company that wanted to expand the sale of their leather products to the Polish market. In this way, Aleksandra could offer inside knowledge about Poland and at the same time learn a lot about running a business and expanding into a new market.
“The company has been very open and there is a mutual trust between us. I help them create brand awareness in the Polish market. The products are different from the typical Polish design, so my knowledge about Poland is certainly an advantage”, Aleksandra says.
The Danish "Jante law" is one of the first things Aleksandra mentions when describing the Danish company culture. She thinks it is nice that Danish people in general do not feel superior to others, regardless of what your job title is. In addition, Aleksandra experiences that Danish companies are more informal than Polish ones, which she really likes.
From exchange student to co-owner of a company
Today, Aleksandra is co-owner of Auluna Poland, and, at the moment, she is introducing Auluna’s leather products in Poland. The basis for the partnership was created when she, in the beginning of the mentor cooperation, carried out research and analysis of the expansion possibilities for a study project. Since then, this cooperation has developed into a partnership.
“Being in Denmark has given me an inner drive and I like working with real projects for companies instead of just studying theory all the time. It motivates me to see the projects become reality – see theory turn into practice”, Aleksandra explains.
Aleksandra is an entrepreneur by spirit and at the age of 23 she has already worked independently as a freelancer and has now chosen to invest in her mentor company. As a result, she can now call herself the co-owner of Auluna Poland. The best piece of advice Aleksandra has to other students is that they should not be afraid to say their opinion or present their ideas to their mentor companies.
When Aleksandra Kieczek started the master programme in Innovation Management at AU-IBT in 2007, she probably had not imagined that she would be the co-owner of her mentor company one and a half years later. But, nonetheless, that is exactly what happened.